Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion

[Son of Arathorn]

Sorry to see you go from the judges roster Lamaclown. Good luck with work and the little ones!

Now then, to the primary reason I dropped by. I would like to nominate my custom (with intensive collaboration/corrections/contribution by awesomeunleashed), Laertan Oresun to Soldiers of Valhalla. See below for the two versions of the card (identical in text, but the image differs slightly.

Original:


Altered:


The miniature used is D&D Giants of Legend #03, Standard Bearer. Depending on when you check, there are usually 75-100 of these figures online, pricing varying from $2-$4.

Spoiler Alert!

Please note that the miniature looks very different from the picture in real life, darned WotC marketers. .

A short blurb: Laertan Oresun is my interpretation of Aquilla's Flagbearer. We originally were going to put in a range restriction on her signature power, but we decided against it since it was all together too complicated. So instead of making it incredibly wordy, we changed it, and bumped the price up significantly. She is designed to work well in many army builds, but excels in the armies of her General Aquilla.

Balance: Laertan Oresun was priced at 160 because she fills a dual role. Firstly, she is a cheerleader that offers a large boost to Aquilla's forces, most notably the Mohican River Tribe and the Fyorlag Spiders. Darrak Ambershard also benefits from her 'aura'. Secondly, she works remarkably well in cleanup, gaining a +2 move on most of her turns once the big battle between squads and heavy hitters is mostly over. With a decent attack, she can go a few rounds in the endgame. With these in mind, we decided she should take a decent amount of points to use, but still be affordable in most army builds.

Playability: We've triple-checked the powers for loopholes, and I can at least say that they are as good as they'll get. The sculpt is indeed visually distinct from other figures in 'Scape, as most flag-bearers are. The figure she looks most like is Sir Gilbert, and even then it's impossible to mix the 2 sculpts up. Like most medium figures, she goes on a standard single-hex base.

Creativity: I'd say Aquilla's flag-bearer adds something new to the game no matter what powers it has. But even so, a variable D20 boost power, plus a new version of Movement Bonding makes for a whole new design.

Theme: I was originally going to make her come from Earth, but since she fits more into the fantasy-role than historic, I'm currently on the fence between Toril and Feylund. Home-world aside, she fills the role of cheerleader and flag-bearer in Aquilla's armies. Drips with theme in-game, I can tell you that much.

Accessibility: As I said before, cheap, and with numbers ranging from 75-100, I think availability is not an issue with the sculpt.

A Note on Valkyrie Dice: The way I see it, there are 2 ways to solve this problem. Either proxy with combat dice (widely available) or other Valkyrie dice (not so available), or the slightly more ambitious option, create a print-out decal of Aquilla symbols that can be placed on the blank sides of combat dice. Heck, if you're an experienced painter you can make your own (though I don't recommend it).

Thank you for your consideration.

[MegaSilver]

I think the Stragetic Movement Bonding should be more limiting to what figures benefit from it, but other than that it's okay as a figure.

[infectedsloth]

Cool, an Aquilla flag barrier, this should be interesting.

I like the card, but to be honest I didn't initially like his strategic movement bonding helping non Aquilla figures, although Sir Gilbert's attack Aura dose help non Jandar figures so I guess there is a precedence.

[machinekng]

I'm a bit worried about the combination of the Valiant personality with Strategic Movement Bonding, as it gives the 4th Mass another boost. Maybe have her be Fearless or Resolute instead?

Otherwise, I think she's fine.

[infectedsloth]

Originally Posted by machinekng

I'm a bit worried about the combination of the Valiant personality with Strategic Movement Bonding, as it gives the 4th Mass another boost. Maybe have her be Fearless or Resolute instead?
.

It's no better then Jandar's Dispatch, personally I think it's worse, and Laertan Oresun costs 55 more, I'm not to concerned with a 4th mass build.

I think she would be good with some blade dancers, you can move them into engagement so they could get there defense bonus.

[quozl]

Guys, can we let the judges discuss the units?

[lefton4ya]

Do you guys accept playtesters who are not available enough to be full time members (such as playtesting a figure once a month) - similar to how the C3V is doing it? It seems like you have too many nominations currently under review and not enough playtesting. Not meaning to be negative, but I just think you have a good system going and I just wish it move a little faster, but I understand how everyone can be busy this time of year (holidays, end of semester, prepare for summer, etc) so am more than happy to see units anytime you are ready.

On the Aquilla flagbearer, I like him and especially like the figure chosen, but I am used to playing my custom. I would add "that follow Aquilla" in the strategic movement bonding. I do think the Aquialla Dice +D20 power is really cool, but it might be kinda powerful. Anybody wanna pull stats on the average increase with 12 dice. You can always make it less dice if it is too powerful. But I am not a judge, so I will shut up now

[awesomeunleashed]

Originally Posted by lefton4ya

Anybody wanna pull stats on the average increase with 12 dice.

You could get a whole lot, but the average is just +2. Aquilla doesn't have any insta-kills or Mind Shackle or anything else crazy like that to boost, I don't think. Don't forget that it doesn't affect Sujoah's Poison Sting Special Attack.

Also, I believe it's a she, not a he.

[Son of Arathorn]

Originally Posted by awesomeunleashed

You could get a whole lot, but the average is just +2. Aquilla doesn't have any insta-kills or Mind Shackle or anything else crazy like that to boost, I don't think. Don't forget that it doesn't affect Sujoah's Poison Sting Special Attack.

In playtests, he highest we ever got was a +4, but it mostly did stick around +2. As for the 4th Mass build, don't forget that in order for that build to be viable, you usually need all-Valiant troops, and the primary squads/heroes that she helps out are fearsome, wild, tricky, etc. I personally would always take Sir Gilbert over her in a 4th Mass build, you get more movement for your investment, and the you can use knights in conjunction, giving them the Valiant Army Defense bonus.

So in a nutshell, I'm not worried on that front.

[Dad_Scaper]

Lefton4ya, playtests are *always* welcome. If some of you are playtesting units we have in the queue, feel free to discuss them here.

I vote to Laertan Oresun. There are a couple subtle problems I have with it, but the two big ones are enough, and both involve ways in which Laertan does not fit in with the other flagbearers.

1. The other flagbearers are packed in pretty tight within a 10 point range, excepting Hatamoto Toro at 130. At 160, Laertan blows the lid off the power level for a flagbearer.

2. Strategic Movement Bonding does not seem particularly thematic (a) with Aquilla or (b) for a flagbearer of a specific general.

I will also point out one of the more subtle objections I have, because it is also important.

Aquilla's Blessing limits what can be done with the future of 20 siders and Aquilla figures. And in this project (and in the C3V) we must be mindful of the future and not foreclose too many possibilities.

I am reminded of Mmirg's no vote to the original Priscus: he was concerned about the possibility of ranged gladiators getting a boost.

Anyway. Interesting custom, guys, and thank you, Son of Arathorn, for bringing it to us for review.

[Super Bogue]

I am going to vote for Laertan Oresun as Aquilla's flagbearer. She does not fit any of the previously established themes with Aquilla. So far with Aquilla we have dwarves, bugs, Native Americans, elementals, a monk, a dragonman, bigfoots, a monster, futurist rebels, and wolfwomen. She looks like Joan of Arc, and Aquilla doesn't have anything in existing roster that fits her look or style. Think about how the official flagbearers all fit into themes that had been built into each general from the Wave 3 or before.

Also I have concerns about how affected Aquilla's Blessing could be. Stacked with Lodin and a hero like Su-Bak-Na or Halduk, you could be boosting d20 rolls by 3 or 4 consistently. Strategic Movement Bonding is a nice ability, but it is one of those that I would definitely limit with the good old, "After revealing an Order Marker on..." line.

A good custom card indeed, but putting her with Aquilla appears forced.

[ZBeeblebrox]

I have to agree with my fellow judges. Nice custom, but it does not fit in Official Heroscape canon, thus does not meet our criteria.

NAY to review


Sorry, for the lack of feedback...but I sprained my wrist and am using my left hand to type everything.

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

Lefton4ya, playtests are *always* welcome. If some of you are playtesting units we have in the queue, feel free to discuss them here.

I vote to Laertan Oresun. There are a couple subtle problems I have with it, but the two big ones are enough, and both involve ways in which Laertan does not fit in with the other flagbearers.

1. The other flagbearers are packed in pretty tight within a 10 point range, excepting Hatamoto Toro at 130. At 160, Laertan blows the lid off the power level for a flagbearer.

2. Strategic Movement Bonding does not seem particularly thematic (a) with Aquilla or (b) for a flagbearer of a specific general.

I will also point out one of the more subtle objections I have, because it is also important.

Aquilla's Blessing limits what can be done with the future of 20 siders and Aquilla figures. And in this project (and in the C3V) we must be mindful of the future and not foreclose too many possibilities.

I am reminded of Mmirg's no vote to the original Priscus: he was concerned about the possibility of ranged gladiators getting a boost.

Anyway. Interesting custom, guys, and thank you, Son of Arathorn, for bringing it to us for review.

Originally Posted by Super Bogue

I am going to vote for Laertan Oresun as Aquilla's flagbearer. She does not fit any of the previously established themes with Aquilla. So far with Aquilla we have dwarves, bugs, Native Americans, elementals, a monk, a dragonman, bigfoots, a monster, futurist rebels, and wolfwomen. She looks like Joan of Arc, and Aquilla doesn't have anything in existing roster that fits her look or style. Think about how the official flagbearers all fit into themes that had been built into each general from the Wave 3 or before.

Also I have concerns about how affected Aquilla's Blessing could be. Stacked with Lodin and a hero like Su-Bak-Na or Halduk, you could be boosting d20 rolls by 3 or 4 consistently. Strategic Movement Bonding is a nice ability, but it is one of those that I would definitely limit with the good old, "After revealing an Order Marker on..." line.

A good custom card indeed, but putting her with Aquilla appears forced.